Track for placing equipment car



March 10, 1959 E. P. WASHABAUGH TRACK FOR PLACING EQUIPMENT CAR Filed Dec. 12. 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l ITJVIHVTOR.

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foa/aro P (Vasfiabaayb Ewtn &' par/4w United States Patent TRACK FOR PLACING- EQUIPMENT CAR Edward P. Washabangh, Saginaw, Mich., assignor to American-Marietta Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application December 12, 1952, Serial No. 325,574

5. Claims. (Cl. 2238-7-10) This invention relates to track over which equipment cars may be run, and particularly where it is desired to carry'the track forward coextensively with the construction of the track bed. p i

In the construction of tunnelsand particularly sectional ring tunnels or passages where the space available to carry on the work is closely constricted and the construc tion area constantly moves forward, and equipment car track is laid down to the edge of the area, or in any construction work wherein track is laid to carry equipment to'the very edge of the construction area as the construction progresses, an obstacle is encountered in laying the trackso as to bring it up to the very edge of the construction area. Unless many short lengths of track sections are available so that as the work progresses they may be successively laid, the'work must be carried ahead of the end of the track already in place, a distance such that a standard length may be laid down. In tunnel construction it is particularly desirable to carry the tunnel sections in equipment cars over railway track laid in the tunnel to the very point where the sections will be put in place. a

An object of this invention is to provide a movable track section cooperating with the permanent track section, which may be extended by increments ahead of the permanent section as the construction of the track bed or tunnel progresses.

-Another object is to provide a movable tracksection adapted to lie alongside the permanent track section in overlapping relationship therewith and which movable track section may be advanced relative to the permanent track section in successive steps. Such movable track section may lie between the rails of the permanent track section, and as the track bed is built may be extended linearly beyond such permanent track section coextensively with the construction of such bed.

On the other hand, the track section may lie outside the rails of the permanent track section and as the track is built ahead of such permanent section it may be extended linearly of and ahead of such permanent section coextensively with the construction of the track bed.

Another and further object is to provide a movable track section which may be extended beyond the end of a permanent track section a distance equal to the length of another permanent track section, which section may be then moved over the top of said movable section and secured at its abutting end with said first mentioned permanent section.

A meritorious feature of this invention resides in the provision of a movable track section adapted to extend the efiective length of a permanent track, and having its rails supported throughout their entire length above the track bed at substantially the same height as the rails of such permanent track.

Another meritorious feature of this invention resides in the provision of a track section the rails and supporting structure of which are constructed as. a unit.

A further meritorious, feature, of, this invention is the provision of a track section the rails and supporting structure of which are constructed as a unit, and wherein the supporting structure is so shaped as to lie evenly upon the bottom and inside a circular tunnular passageway and adapted to receive and support linearly thereof another track section laid thereover.

Other objects, advantages and meritorious features will more fully appear in the following description, claims and accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a permanent track section and a movable track section;

Fig. 2 is a sectional top view of a portion of a tunnel with a permanent track laid therein and a movable track section extending beyond the end of the permanent track;

"Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and showing an equipment car riding on thetracks;

Fig. 4 is a perspective end view of a section of permanent track;

Fig. 5 is a cross sectionalview of movable and per.- manent track sections taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a top sectional view of a portion of a tunnel showing a permanent track laid therein and a modified form of the movable track extending beyond the end of the permanent track;

Fig. 7 is a cross sectional view of the tunnel together with the permanent track and the movable track taken on line 7--7 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a. cross sectional view of the movable track taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view of a bottom portion of the tunnel and showing the permanent track and the modified form of the movable track lying therein;

Fig. 10 is a broken sectional view of a corner of the preferred form of movable track and displaying the stop block;

Fig. 11 is a detail view of one of the handles on the end of the preferred form of the invention. I

In Fig. 1, numeral 10 designates as a unit the preferred form of my movable track section. It may be formed of iron or steel and comprises a concavo-convex bottom which may be termed a bridging means or tie means and indicated at 12 and curved to conform with the curvature of the bottom portion of a tunnel 14, illustrated in cross section as in Fig. 3, through which the track may be laid. Theconvex face of the bottom portion 12 when resting in the complementary concave floor of the tunnel tends to maintain the movable track section with the shoulders level and squarely on the bottom of the concave floor. The movable section '10 is provided at the linear edges with spaced shoulders 16 which serve as rails for the centrally flanged wheels 18 of an equipment car or tunnel section car 20 that rides thereover. The car may be designed to carry tunnel sections 22.

A permanent track section 24, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 5, is formed of a series of pairs of end abutting parallel spaced rails 26 spaced apart by ties or tie means I 23. As will be noted from a consideration of Figs. 1, 3,

and 5, the spacing apart of rails 26 and the length of spaced tie means 28 is less than the spacing of rails or shoulders 16 so that the section 24 may nest between the rails 16. The bottoms of the ties 28 are curved to conform with the bottom 12 of the movable track 10 and the bottom of the tunnel. The shoulders 16 of the movable section are so spaced apart that when the permanent track 24 overlies the movable section a space is provided between the edges of the shoulders 24 and the rails 26 through which the flanges 29 of the wheels 18 on the tunnel section car may pass. The outside portions of the wheels are adapted to ride upon the shoulders'of the movable track and the inside portions to ride over the rails 26 of the permanent track. The ends 30 of the 3 tics 28 project beyond the sides of the rails .26 to centrally position the permanent section between the shoulders '16 of the movable section.

Handles 25, formed as shown, are mounted on one end of the movable section 10. Each of these handles has a top portion 27 lying planar with the top face of the shoulders 16, and a curved portion 29 extending downwardly and outwardly of the track section. These handles perform the function of facilitating the grasping of the track section to pull it from beneath the superposed end section of the continuous track. They also, because of their positioning and shape, provide guide means for guiding the tunnel section car onto the rails or shoulders 16 of the track section or onto the rails 26 of the permanent section. This latter function occurs when, instead of moving the movable section continuously ahead of the permanent section as new sections are laid in end abutting relation, the movable section is used as a bridging section, Fig. 2.

When being so used a permanent section is not laid down in end abutting relation with the previously laid permanent sections and thereby entirely covering the length of the movable section, but rather said permanent section is laid over only a portion of the length of the movable section and spaced from the end of the pre' viously laid permanent section. The car is then run off the end of the previously laid permanent section onto the movable section and then onto the new permanent section. The handles guide the car in this movement onto the adjoining rails if for any reason the rails of the movable and permanent section are not properly aligned.

A stop 31 is pivotally mounted on the top face of the shoulders 16 near that end of the movable track upon which are mounted the handles 25. The stop pivots about a pin 33 and is held in either of two determined positions by a stop pin 35 adapted to engage perforations 37 and 38 in the top face of the shoulders. In one position the stop blocks one of the wheels of the car preventing it from-passing over the end of the movable section, and in the other position permits the wheels to pass by the stop.

In operation the movable section is laid and the first permanent section of track laid thereover, as shown in Fig. 5. Then as the construction of the tunnel moves ahead of the movable and permanent sections, the movable section is pulled lengthwise by increments corresponding to the progress of the construction. When the construction has moved the length of a permanent section, the movable section having been contempora neously moved, another permanent section is laid down over the movable section and its abutting end fastened to the corresponding end of the first mentioned permanent section. The operation is then repeated. It will be noted from the drawings and from the foregoing description that sections and 24 may be shifted relative to each other throughout their lengths while remaining nested and that the tie means 28 will slide over the tie means or bridging means 12.

It should be noted that each wheel 18 of the car 20 is provided with opposed tread surfaces upon opposite sides of a central flange 29. These tread surfaces are adapted to ride jointly upon the two rails 16 and 26 of the movable and permanent track sections respectively. The wheels will also ride over either set of rails alone.

Figs. 6 to 9, inclusive, illustrate a modified form of the invention. The permanent track is of the same design as described previously. However, to accommodate a tunnel section car of the same gauge wheel trucks, the rails 26 are spaced apart a distance equal to the spacing between the shoulders 16 of previously described movable section 10. The movable track consists oftwo rails 32 spaced apart by metal ties 34. The ties are fastened to the, rails at the lower inside edge of the flange with the the ties 28 of the permanent track when the movable track is moved thereover.

The operation of the modification is similar to that of the preferred form of the invention, except that the movable track must either be lifted out of the way when placing a permanent track, or must be slid back over the standing or permanent sections. A block or blocks 36, or the like, may be placed under the movable track as it is withdrawn from between the rails 26 and advanced toward the construction area, thereby maintaining the track at the same height above the track bed, as is the permanent track.

What I claim is:

1. An extensible track structure to support tunnel section cars in the construction of sectional ring tunnels comprising, in combination: a first pair of laterally spaced-apart parallel rails, a sheet-like bridging connection extending from one end to the opposite end of the rails and secured to and spacing the rails apart, said bridging connection disposed below the plane of the rails and shaped to conform to the curvature of the floor of a sectional ring tunnel in which laid, a second pair of laterally spaced parallel rails including tie means secured therebetween with the length of the tie means and the spacing of the second-mentioned pair of rails less than the spacing between the first pair of rails such that the second pair of rails and their tie means may nest between the first pair of rails and rest upon the bridging means of the first pair of rails, the adjacent rails of the nested pairs being closely spaced to allow a car wheel to run over either or both rolling surfaces of the heads of the rails, said first and second pairs of rails being shift- 1 able longitudinally relative to each other while in nested relation with the bridging means of the first pair slidable beneath the tie means of the second pair, and the height of the second pair of rails being such that the rolling surfaces of the nested pairs of rails are coplanar at any longitudinally shifted nested position of the two pairs of rails.

- 2. An extensible track structure to support tunnel section cars in the construction of sectional ring tunnels comprising, in combination, a longitudinally extending sheetlike member of concavo-convex form adapted to overlie the floor of a sectional ring tunnel and provided along its opposite longitudinal marginal edges with a pair of shoulders extending inwardly and overlying the concave surface and providing a pair of parallel spaced-apart raillike rolling surfaces for the wheels of tunnel section cars, a pair of laterally spaced-apart parallel rails with tie means secured thereto spacing the rails apart with the length of the tie means and the spacing of the pair of rails less than the spacing between said rail-like shoulders such that the pair of rails and their tie means may lie between and rest upon said member between the rail-like shoulders thereof with the rolling surfaces of said shoulders closely spaced to the rolling surface of the adjacent rails to allow the wheels of terminal section cars to run over either or both surfaces, said sheet-like member being shiftable longitudinally beneath said pair of rails and the tie means thereof to extend the effective length of said pair of rails, said pair of rails having a height such that the rolling surfaces thereof are coplanar with the rolling surfaces of said shoulders, and said pair of rails being connectible to the end of a plurality of permanently laid track sections to form a permanent extension thereof.

3. An extensible track structure to support tunnel section cars in the construction of sectional ring tunnels comprising, in combination: a first track section and a second track section, each section including a pair of laterally spaced-apart parallel rails with tie means extending therebctween and secured thereto, the spacing between the rails and the length of the tie means of the second section being less than the distance between the rails of the first section by an amount suflicient to allow nestingof the'two tracksections with the adjacent rails at each side of the nested sections being substantially juxtaposed but with a space therebetween to allow the flange of a wheel to pass therebetween, each of said rails having car Wheel rolling surfaces, said second section while in nested relation with the first section resting upon and supported by the tie means of the first section, the bottom surfaces of the tie means and rails of said second section being above the top surfaces of the tie means of said first section to enable relative longitudinal sliding movement of the sections, and the maximum outside height of the second section measured from that surface resting upon the tie means of the first section to the rolling surface of the rails of the second section relative to the inside height of the first section measured from the rolling surfaces of the rails of the first section to the surface of the tie means supporting the second section being such that in any nested longitudinally shifted position of the sections, the rolling surfaces of the rails of the second section are coplanar with the rolling surfaces of the first section.

4. The invention as defined in claim 3 characterized in that the tie means of the first section comprise a continuous sheet extending transversely between the rails and longitudinally throughout their length, and the tie means of the second section are slidably supported on the tie means of the first section.

a 5. The invention as defined in claim 3 characterized in that the tie means of the first section comprise a plurality of transversely extending ties spaced apart longitudinally of the rails, the rails of the second section rest on the tie means of the first section to be slidably supported thereby, and the bottom of the tie means of the second section does not extend below a plane common to the bottom surface of the rails of the second section.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 650,927 Crosby June 5, 1900 694,851 Gardner Mar. 4, 1902 1,093,708 Lieber et al. Apr. 21, 1914 1,136,288 Still Apr. 20, 1915 1,164,938 Grow Dec. 21, 1915 1,486,700 Tompkins Mar. 11, 1924 1,505,116 Wiebe Aug. 19, 1924 1,621,687 Ray Mar. 22, 1927 

